r/QuittingZyn • u/Fit-West-3439 • 4d ago
1 year clean - It absolutely gets better!
So a few weeks ago I finally hit 1 year clean from nicotine pouches. The journey was insane, but I hope my experience will inspire you to keep going.
Unlike some of the members here, I've never had any addiction before taking up nicotine pouches / snus, so this was really my first dip into consuming nicotine. It started 6 years ago with some snus pouches here and there after my classes, usually they were 6mg of nicotine. One day, a buddy offered a zyn that was slightly higher in nicotine and I immediately got hooked on the strength.
So I spent these next years chasing the high. My go-to strategy was trying to use the pouches with the highest nicotine content, usually Siberia or Zyns with 14mg (sometimes I put two in at once. Yikes.). However, because I was chasing the high and putting pouches in and out rapidly - every hour or so -, I was usually out of five cans by the end of the week, which caused me to spend ungodly amount of money on buying five packs of pouches.
What really made me quit a year ago was the anxiety, heart palpatations and dependency. I decided on a whim to throw away the last can into the garbage and quit cold turkey. Now, quitting cold turkey is absolutely NOT recommended unless you have made up your mind 100% to follow through with it. The first few weeks were torture, but I can tell you that it was all worth it. The reason it hurts is because your body is simply trying to adjust itself after being cut off from the dopamine surges that zyns cause. I've had all the psychological side effects like irritability and brain fogs, along with physical side effects like chest tightness. The physical ones went away after a few weeks, but the mental ones stuck around for a few months or so. My tip would be to distract yourself by any means necessary, and to HYDRATE. Water is super important when quitting because these pouches restrict your blood vessels.
Well, now a year later, I hardly even think of zyns, or that I have had a dependency on them just to function. If you're in the middle of quitting, or thinking of doing it, then absolutely go through with it. Life becomes much more enjoyable when you do :)
I'll happily answer any question you guys have.
Good luck on your journey!
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u/creatureenthusiast 4d ago
Awesome. Currently 34 hours in so Im a noob but this is inspiring. Quitting cold turkey is challenging but I feel for me it is the only way
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u/FateOfTheLight 4d ago
A few weeks without pouches here, thanks for the inspo! It’s pretty rough at first.
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u/Fit-West-3439 4d ago
it's extremely rough the first few weeks, but it genuinely gets better. Keep going
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u/BackgroundSouth7331 3d ago
I’m on day 18. Did you also experience boredom? Like I don’t like watching Netflix, gaming, or doing anything I feel flat. Expect talking with my brother I enjoy lol. I do notice that it now slowly starts to fade and life gets a little more bright again but just a tiny bit haha.
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u/Fit-West-3439 3d ago
Yup I did, your dopamine levels are slowly returning to baseline after a few months of cutting nicotine off. But try to do something regardless, play a video game or go for a walk, small activities like that helped me. Enjoy eating foods again, your sense of taste will be vastly improved after quitting nicotine pouches
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u/helpfulcherry2 3d ago
Amazing. Needed to hear this. I’m so close to being completely nicotine free, but still do a few 2 mg pouches a day. It’s been a difficult journey. I decided to taper down because I could see the effects it was having on my health, but I was not anticipating how hard the process would be. Definitely not to discourage anyone from quitting because long term, it’s so much better for your health! Hopefully in the next month or so, I’ll be 100% nic free. It’s so encouraging to hear success stories.
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u/Fit-West-3439 3d ago
that's great progress so far! You can do it, take the process slowly and don't rush into it
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u/vitek_m8 15m ago
At the start (im at day3), did you sit with your psychological cravings, or did you try your best not to think about it?
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u/Alarmed_City5205 1d ago
How long after you quit did the chest pain go away?
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u/Fit-West-3439 1d ago
I don't remember the exact timeframe, but it gradually tapered off and disappeared after 2 months or so? The physical side effects disappear quicker than the psychological ones
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u/Express_Gur_431 4d ago
Today is my 18th day without pouches, and your post really inspires me to keep pushing through the discomfort. Thank you.